Features
The Return of the Beer Can
We’re accustomed to pouring fine wines and champagnes from sleekly tapered green bottles with foil and corks. On the other hand, everyday food items—tomato paste, evaporated milk, chili—we scoop out of metal cylinders.
Big Can Be Beautiful
In the 30 years I have written about beer, I have more and more come to agree with the proposition put forward by the radical economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher that “small is beautiful.” This is the title of his seminal work of 1973 and in it he argues the case that companies worship size for […]
Cocoa Beans and Grains of Barley: the Magic of Beer and Chocolate
The pairing of beer with chocolate seems recently to have gained a life of its own. Among other signs are reports from New York that hint this lovely combination is “the next big thing.” Actually, during the past year, our stout ice cream float made inroads in the Big Apple, according to the Wall Street […]
Beer and Chocolate Tasting Basics
For each course, first sip the beer, then nibble the chocolate afterwards. Don’t overwhelm the one with the other.
Some Books About Chocolate
Boynton, Sandra. Chocolate, The Consuming Passion. Workman Publishing, New York, 1982. McGee, Harold. Sugars, Chocolate, and Confectionary, On Food and Cooking–the Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Collier-Macmillan, New York, 1984. Brenner, Joel Glenn. The Emperors of Chocolate—Inside the Secret World of Hershey & Mars. Broadway Books, New York, 2000.
Chocolate Recipes
We offer three novelty items here that go very well with heavier beer and will give great life to any beer-chocolate tasting.
Mozart for Beer and Chocolate
Mozart is especially nice because it offers the opportunity to add a new dimension. The presenter can buy cheap wooden chopsticks. Give a single chopstick to each participant as they arrive. Don’t tell them what you are doing. Let them wonder. Then along about beer number 9 you can have a seventh inning stretch by […]
Rules of Chocolate
1. There is no caloric intake when beer and chocolate are combined. The calories in chocolate and those in beer counter and cancel each other out. 2. If you’ve got melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re obviously eating it too slowly. 3. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, […]
A Story without Heroes: The Cautionary Tale of Malt Liquor
A Humble Birth, A Proper Upbringing Malt liquor was a child of necessity. Despite the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the Depression was making things tough for brewers. Drinkers complained that beer lacked its old “kick.” And then World War II brought rationing. Not enough metal for bottle caps or cans, not enough malt to […]
What Exactly Is Malt Liquor?
Malt liquor is an American beer style characterized by high alcohol content, thin body, light color, little hop character, and a variety of sweetish flavors and off-flavors.
Craft Beer in a Can
Dale’s Pale Ale, Oskar Blues, Lyons, CO Press in the push tab and you’re greeted by the citrusy, resiny aroma of Pacific Northwest hops. Dale’s Pale Ale has a creamy white head, a deep gold color and a prickly hop flavor followed by a lingering bitterness. At 6.5% ABV and 62 IBUs, this beer edges […]
Neon Signage: A New Bend on Collecting
This year marks the 95th anniversary of the neon sign. In less than a century, this advertising form went from slick to sleaze, but the interest of breweries and bar owners has helped keep the medium alive.
Columns
Beer and Chocolate in Tokyo?
Carrying my beer and chocolate dog and pony show to Tokyo presented quite a challenge. First, there was an entirely different set of brews in Japan and the available chocolates were not necessarily those with which I was familiar. Moreover, the Japanese don’t have quite the depth of interest in either chocolate or the varieties […]
When in Japan…
Izakaya are small pubs, usually specializing in sake, but here are two craft beer establishments. They serve a succession of small, but wonderful, snacks with each beer one orders. The reader would be wise to go with a Japanese-speaking friend when searching for such nomiya (pubs).
Departments
Smoke Gets in your Beer
The modern beer renaissance has led to the rediscovery and appreciation of many traditional beer styles, followed by a wave of experimentation among the more adventurous nouveau brewers. One of the more obscure historical ingredients useful for experimentation is smoked malt. It comes in several forms, but the most common type is the smoked malt […]
Austin City Limits
Take one state capital, add 30,000 or so college students, stir in a rich football tradition and—voila!—you’ve got a can’t-miss recipe for good times. Take Austin, for instance. It’s the home of the University of Texas, ranked by Princeton Review as one of America’s top 10 party schools. It won’t take you long to find […]
Beer Talk
Hop Juice Double IPA
Left Coast Brewing Co. San Clemente, CA Available: CA Left Coast Brewing Co. is the distribution arm of Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co., which was named champion small brewery by the 2004 World Beer Cup. This double IPA is brewed using Warrior, Columbus, Centennial, Liberty, Simcoe and Chinook hops. The hops are added to the […]
Bohemian Pilsner
Old Dock Street Brewery Gladwyne, PA Available: PA, NJ, DE With this traditional Bohemian-style pilsner, the brewery is targeting a new sort of Bohemian, the young East-coast art and underground music community. Alcohol (wt.): 3.58 Alcohol (vol.): 4.5 Color: 4.5 Bitterness: 10.5 Gravity: 1045
Samuel Adams Black Lager
Boston Beer Co. Boston, MA Available: nationwide The black lager, or schwarzbier style is not often made by American brewers, although this eastern German style has been picked up with enthusiasm in Japan. Samuel Adams Black Lager is brewed with two-row Munich, Harrington and deep-roasted Carafa malts, and Bavarian hops. Alcohol (wt.): 3.8 Alcohol (vol.): […]
Elissa IPA
St. Arnold Brewing Co. Houston, TX Available: TX The Elissa is a tall ship now moored in Galveston. To commemorate the ships that once transported IPAs to India, St. Arnold Brewing Co. is donating a portion of the proceeds from this beer to the Galveston Historical District for preservation of the ship. Alcohol (wt.): 5.25 […]
Crème Brûlée Stout
Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. Warren, MI Available: MI An unfiltered stout of medium body, made with coffee, caramelised sugar and vanilla. Alcohol (wt.): 4.3 Alcohol (vol.): 5.5 Color: 50 Bitterness: 38 Gravity: 1062
“33” Export
BGI Tien Giang Bihn Duc, Chau Thanh, Vietnam Imported by: Ba M’Ba Import Westport, CT Available: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IL, HA, KY, MD, MA, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI After a 19 year interval, “33” or Ba M’Ba is available again in […]
Duck-Rabbit Porter
Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery Farmville, NC Available: NC The logo for this “dark ale specialist” brewery is borrowed from a philosophical text by Wittgenstein, to recall the brewer’s background as a philosophy teacher. The image appears to be either a silhouette of a duck’s head or a rabbit’s head, depending on the viewer’s perspective. Alcohol (wt.): […]
India Red Ale
Landmark Brewing Co. East Syracuse, NY Available: NY, PA Landmark Brewing Co. was founded in 2004, with the beer produced under contract by River Horse Brewery in New Jersey. This novel style of ale is brewed with two-row, crystal 80, Munich and chocolate malts, and Centennial, Chinook and Cascade hops. Alcohol (wt.): 4.4 Alcohol (vol.): […]